A Mother in Her Eyes
by LoveLikeElena
Summary: When a misunderstanding occurs between Molly and a substitute teacher, Megan learns a lesson in opening up to people. R/R


DISC: I DO NOT own any of the ponies mentioned in this story. They belong to Hasbro. I do however own the Hartson sisters and their family.

Enjoy!

"A Mother in Her Eyes"

It was a beautiful, spring day in Nebraska. Thirteen year old Megan Hartson was sitting in her English class, trying to figure out what to write for an essay. She would have normally just written about her summer vacation she spent in Ponyland and what had happened when she and the ponies had defeated the witches of gloom, along with Lucrishia for the last time. But for some reason, Megan didn't think her teacher,

Miss Morgan, would really believe her, even though it was all true.

As Megan to racking her brain for a subject, she started getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach about her baby sister, Molly.

Molly was in Miss Melody's second-grade class and she liked her teacher a lot. Miss Melody was really nice and she took time for each student.

Megan rarely got called to Molly's classroom because of Molly causing trouble.

Usually if something went wrong with either Molly or Julie, their teachers, Miss Melody or Miss Andrea Ortega would call for Megan.

It was accustom in Nebraska and other small towns where the schools were merged together until high school to let an older sibling either comfort his or her young sister or brother or if necessary put them in line. Megan had only been called to Julie's classroom twice since her little one had entered school.

Usually it was to settle a fight between Julie and a snobby rich kid named Courtney Anderson. Courtney was Julie and Julie's best friend, Charlotte Martin's enemy. The three girls had disliked each other since pre-school.

Megan could honestly see why Courtney was disliked by Julie and Charlotte. Courtney was stuck up and really mean sometimes. She especially liked teasing Julie.

As Megan tapped her pen to her paper, an idea came to her. She started writing something down. Before she knew it, she was almost done. But still, as Megan wrote about the recent camping trip she had taken with her family and now boyfriend, Patrick Hillard, that feeling of unease about Molly still lingered.

Megan couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew that something was wrong...

Meanwhile, one floor down and two rooms over from where Megan's classroom was, Molly was having a hard time doing her work as well. She had been asked by the substitute teacher, Miss Thomas, to make a mother's day card since mother's day was coming up.

Molly couldn't make one of those. She tried to explain

this to Miss Thomas, but the teacher wouldn't hear it. She was nice, but strict. She expected the students to listen to her.

As Molly sat there, trying to figure out what to do, an idea came to her five year old mind. She knew exactly who she was going to make a card for. IT was perfect. Molly smiled and began to work.

"All right children," Miss Thomas said after a few minutes had passed, "please bring your mother's day cards up here so that I can look them over."

All the children did so. Molly was excited because she knew she had done a good job and she was proud of her work. She had drawn a rainbow and a sun at the top and then in the middle she had written Happy Mother's day, Megan.

When it was Molly's turn to show Miss Thomas her card, she presented it proudly. But her smile was soon replaced with a frown when Miss Thomas asked, "What's this"

"A mother's day card," Molly answered, "that's what you told us to make, right"

Miss Thomas nodded.

"Yes, I did, but why did you use your mother's first name?

Don't you call her Mommy or Mama"

Molly shook her head as she felt her lower lip start to quiver. She forced herself to be a big girl and look Miss Thomas straight in the eye.

"No. Megan's my big sister. But I think of her as my-"

"I asked you to make a mother's day card. Not a card for your sister. Now, I'm afraid this is not acceptable." With that, Miss Thomas threw the card away.

Molly couldn't take it anymore. She had worked really hard on the card and now it was ruined. SHE burst into tears and looked at the floor. She knew Miss melody would never have done something like that. Miss Melody would have understood.

"Now, will you please go back to your seat and make a mother's day card like I asked?" Miss Thomas requested, unaware of Molly's distress.

Molly raised her head and said something she had NEVER said to a teacher or any adult in authority before.

"No"

"Excuse me? Did you just say no to me, young lady"

Molly nodded.

Miss Thomas grimaced and went to the phone. She had never been disrespected before in her life. She knew what she had to do.

"Molly, please go to your seat," she said as she dialed Miss Morgan's phone number.

But Molly was already at her seat. She had her head down and she was still crying. It wasn't fair.

"Yes, hi Kathy. Can I please see Megan Hartson? She's not in trouble, I just need to talk to her about her little sister, Molly.

Thank you." with that, Miss Thomas hung up the phone. She then walked over to Molly's desk and put a hand on her shoulder. "I called your sister," she informed her, "we'll see if she can make you behave."

Molly didn't answer. She even pushed Miss Thomas's hand away. She didn't want her to touch her. All she wanted was Megan. But as Molly sat there, she shivered a little. She knew Megan would NEVER hurt her physically, but she knew a lecture was coming. And once they got home, Megan would certainly put Molly in time out. Just thinking about her punishment to come scared her a little. She didn't mind the time out as much, but she hated it when Megan lectured her.

Meanwhile back upstairs in Miss Morgan's classroom, Megan had just set her essay down on the teacher's desk to be graded. She was going back to her seat when she felt Miss Morgan's hand on her shoulder.

"Megan, sweetie, you need to go and see Miss Thomas."

Megan nodded. She gave Miss Morgan a confused look.

"Who's Miss Thomas?"

"She's the sub who is teaching Molly's class. Apparently there was a little incident where Molly said no to her. She needs you to go downstairs and straighten this out. I'll give you a pass."

"Thank you," Megan said. She then stood there, her mind racing a million miles a minute. Why would Molly say no to a

teacher? She had never done that before. Then Megan realized that Molly was probably testing her limits with this newcomer because she was so used to Miss Melody's rules and the way she taught. It still was no excuse and Megan was going to make sure Molly understood that. She was going to be gentle, but firm with her little sunshine. Megan didn't want to jump to conclusions right away. Maybe there was something more to this than Molly just being disobedient for a few minutes. Whatever it was, Megan was going to figure it out and help both sides come to an agreement.

"Here you go," Miss Morgan said, breaking Megan out of her thoughts, "take your time. Since you completed your essay already, all we're going to do for the next twenty-minutes before lunch is read."

Megan nodded and gave Miss Morgan a grateful smile. She was really a nice lady.

When Megan reached Molly's classroom, Miss Thomas met her at the door.

"Hello," Miss Thomas greeted her, "you must be Megan. I'm Ginger Thomas, the sub for the day."

"It's nice to meet you,," Megan said, holding out her hand for Miss Thomas to shake.

Miss Thomas did so and gave Megan a smile as she led her inside and closed the door.

"I guess you heard what happened with your sister, Molly,"

Miss Thomas began.

Megan nodded.

"A little bit. Something about her saying no to you."

Miss Thomas frowned.

"Yes. Well, you see, I had asked the children to make mother's day cards and Molly made a beautiful one, but I had to throw it out because it wasn't completed the right way."

"I see," Megan said. She knew where this was going full

well. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "May I see it"

Miss Thomas nodded. She had retrieved it from the trash can a few minutes before Megan had arrived.

Glancing down at the card, she could feel tears of love and

happiness welling up in her green eyes. She pushed them back and forced herself to be professional.

"As you can see," Miss Morgan continued, " the card is very nice, but it's not for your mother. It's for you."

Megan nodded. She took a deep breath and asked, "Miss

Thomas, can I talk to you for a minute, alone"

"Why certainly," Miss Thomas replied. She got a teacher's aid from one of the other room's to watch her class for a few minutes.

After Hillary arrived, Miss Thomas showed Megan into a small conference room. She sat down across from her and closed the door.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked, her tone gentle.

"It's about Molly," Megan began, "before I explain, I want to assure you that I'm going to talk to her when we get back and punish her when we get home. There is NO excuse for her to be disrespectful to any teacher. She's honestly never done this before."

Miss Thomas nodded. She gave Megan her full attention.

"See, when Molly was two, I was ten and our other sister,

Julie was five, our mother, Lisa, abandoned us at a shopping center. She just took off and didn't look back."

"Oh my" Miss Thomas said, frowning.

"And when Molly was born, Mom gave her to me to raise. She didn't want her at all. I know that sounds far fetched, but trust me, ma'am, it's true. She said it to my face. I even gave Molly her name. She's the most precious little girl in my life, next to our sister Julie that is. They both mean so much to me. And I think that's why Molly did this." she said, holding up the card again. "She thinks of me as her mother. She still calls me Megan and she knows I'm her big sister, but there's a part of Molly that sees me as the mother she never had. Like when she's sick or when there's a thunderstorm and she'll crawl into bed with me. Or even when I punish her, like I'm going to do in a few minutes. Even after I lecture her and give her a time out, we always have cuddle time afterwards and she knows, no matter what that she's loved. I always tell her that right after her punishment's over. I never want her to think that just because I have to punish her that I don't love her. Julie too."

Miss Thomas nodded. It was then that she saw a fading bruise on Megan's shoulder. She guessed abuse, but she didn't go into it. She had heard enough.

"Well, I just want to say that I'm really sorry, Megan. I

didn't realize this. Molly tried to explain something to me, but I

didn't listen. If I had, maybe this would never have happened."

Megan nodded in agreement.

"Maybe you're right, but we all make mistakes. Now, I have

to talk to Molly. Thank you for listening, Miss Thomas."

Miss Thomas nodded and stood up. She then gave Megan a small hug.

"It's not a problem." Miss Thomas said. "And again, I'm

really sorry about what happened to you and your sisters. I know you don't want pity. It's just that. . ."

"I know," Megan said, trying to fight back tears once

Again, "there are nights where Molly will have a bad dream and

she'll call for our mother in her sleep and it breaks my heart. I

know I'm not a mother, but knowing that Molly sees me as one in her eyes makes me feel really good."

Miss Thomas nodded as she led the way back to her classroom.

After they got there, Megan went over to Molly who was eating her lunch quietly. Megan put a hand on her baby sister's shoulder and said, "Come on, Moll. We need to talk." she gently picked Molly up and carried her out of the room. She was going to use the conference room for the task. She knew it was a nice size and she needed somewhere to sit Molly for her time out. She figured she would get it over with now, so that she could also have a little cuddle time with her. She knew her baby sister needed it.

When they arrived in the room, Megan set Molly down gently onto a chair. She then knelt down in front of her and said gently but sternly. "Molly Shaianne Hartson, I want you to look at me right now."

Molly did so. She knew when Megan used her full name, she meant business.

"I already talked to Miss Thomas about what happened and I know why you did what you did, but it was still wrong. Do you

understand me, young lady?"

Molly nodded.

"Use your words, yes or no?" Megan asked sternly.

"Ya-yes ma'am" Molly said tearfully.

"Okay. I want you to sit here for five minutes and think

about what you did. I'll come and get you out of time out when five minutes is up." Megan then went to sit down on the other side of the room and started playing with her ponytail a little. She had brought her backpack because of lunch not being faraway, but she really didn't want to get anything out because

it was only going to be five minutes until she got Molly out of time out.

After five minutes was up, Megan went back over to where Molly was sitting and knelt down in front of her. She put her hand on Molly's shoulder.

"Molly, honey, you're time out's over with. But before we have cuddle time, I want you to tell me what you did to earn this."

Molly looked up at Megan, her hazel eyes full of tears and

Replied, "I-I said na-no to a teacher."

"That's right. And even though I know you did it out of frustration and being upset because of our family situation, it was still wrong. Now, I want you to promise me that you'll try harder not to do that again, okay? And I also want you to apologize to Miss Thomas when you get back to class."

Molly nodded.

"I promise."

"Aw, that's my girl." Megan gave Molly's shoulder a pat before holding her arms out to her. "Come here, my little sunshine."

"Where I Belong" Molly said.

"That's right, Moll. In my arms safe and sound. And that is where you will always belong." Megan took Molly into her arms and carried her over to the couch. She then sat Molly in her lap and had a little cuddle time with her.

"I love you, Molly Shaianne Hartson. I love you so much." Megan planted a kiss on Molly's head. "And that card you made me was really beautiful."

Molly smiled through her remaining tears.

"Thanks."

Molly was silent and then she asked, hope in her

Voice, "Am I still your little sunshine even though I was a bad girl today"

Megan nodded as she fought back tears of love for her baby sister now cradled in her protective and loving embrace.

"Of course you are, Molly. And you will always be my little

sunshine no matter what. I love you so much, honey." Megan gave Molly another kiss and held her close. She then sung Molly their song and held her for a few more minutes before setting her down and ruffling her pigtails lovingly.

"Also, you weren't bad. What you did was bad, but you yourself aren't bad." She explained.

Molly nodded to show Megan she understood.

""Now, I need to get to lunch and you need to finish yours, so why don't I take you back to your classroom and then we can both eat. Does that sound like a good idea, my little sunshine?"

Molly shook her head.

"Nope. I have a better idea." Molly said, her hazel eyes

sparkling with excitement and hope as she gazed up at her big sister.

"And what's that, Moll?" Megan asked, grinning down at her baby sister lovingly.

"Why don't we have lunch together? You me and Julie.? Julie and I have recess now and your lunch lasts a long time."

Megan smiled. Molly was slowly learning how to tell time and she was right about Megan's lunch period being an hour.

"You're right." Megan said, picking Molly up and holding her close. "That is a better idea. In fact, Aunt Abby gave me some lunch money. How about I buy you and Julie something special for lunch today."

Molly gasped.

"Holy macanoli! Would you really do that?"

Megan nodded and laughed. Her baby sister was cute.

"Yes I would. Now come on, my little sunshine. Let's go tell your teacher where you're going to be."

Molly nodded.

Megan carried Molly back to her classroom and explained to Miss Thomas what was going on.

"That's fine." Miss Thomas said. "And then you can get her down for nap. You don't mind, do you, Megan"

Megan shook her head.

"Not at all. I can even sing to everyone if you like."

Miss Thomas nodded and smiled.

Megan then turned to Molly and said, "Isn't there something you want to say to Miss Thomas, Molly?"

Molly nodded and slowly walked up to the teacher's desk. She looked directly into Miss Thomas' brown eyes and said, "I'm sorry, ma'am. I didn't mean to be bad."

"Thank you, Molly. I know you didn't mean to say no to me and I promise to listen better next time you're trying to explain something to me if I substitute for your class again. Deal?"

Molly smiled and nodded as she shook Miss Thomas' hand.'

"It's a deal!" She said.

"Good." Miss Thomas said, smiling. She knew Molly wasn't a bad kid at all.

"All right, my little sunshine, let's go get Jules and then we can get some lunch."

Megan picked Molly up and carried her out of the room.

On her way to Julie's classroom, Megan gave Molly a kiss. "I'm very proud of you, Molly Shaianne Hartson."

"Thanks." Molly said. "I'm proud of myself too."

Megan giggled as she knocked on Miss Andrea Ortega's door. When Miss Andrea Ortega answered, Megan asked her if Julie could come to lunch with them.

Miss Andrea Ortega agreed almost immediately and got Julie from her spot where she was playing with Charlotte. The two friends were reading together.

"Come on, little one." Megan said, using her special name for Julie. "let's go eat."

Julie smiled and followed her two sisters out of the classroom and into the cafeteria.

As Megan sat on the playground, eating lunch with her two younger sisters and her best friend, Allycen Sierra, ten minutes later, she smiled. She was glad she had been able to talk to Molly and show her right from wrong. She was even happier that her baby sister really understood what she had done was wrong.

Megan knew that Molly would try harder in the future to respect adults.

It melted Megan's heart that Molly saw her, Megan as her mother.

She loved both of her little sisters very much. She would do her best to see that they stayed happy, healthy and most of all, they knew that they were loved.

THE END


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